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New Orleans Pelicans preparing to assess talent at the Chicago pre-draft combine

Trey Burke.jpg

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2012 file photo, Michigan guard Trey Burke (3) drives around Cleveland State guard Sebastian Douglas (1) during the first half of their NCAA college basketball game in the second-round of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. Burke was selected to the AP All-America team Monday, April 1, 2013.
(P Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Over the next five weeks, New Orleans Pelicans General Manager Dell Demps and his staff will be deeply involved with assessing top draft prospects they could potentially select with their first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft in June.

They will get their first opportunity on Wednesday to interview prospects at length and evaluate them as they undergo testing to determine their vertical jump, strength and agility and measurements such as wingspan when the two-day NBA pre-draft combine opens in Chicago.

With personnel from all 30 NBA teams expected to attend, the combine is where first impressions are developed that could help some prospects increase their draft stock.

``It’s a good chance to get a feel of what’s going on around the league and you get a sense what other teams are looking for in free agency and the draft,'' Pelicans assistant general manager Tim Connelly said Monday afternoon. ``Our guys do such a great job at this moment. It’s certainly at this moment there is a special focus identifying guys we’re comfortable with. Next Tuesday (draft lottery) is another chance to gain more clarity where we’re going to be. It’s been a year long process focusing on guys.''

Because of their 27-55 record, the Hornets have the fifth-highest odds to
land the No. 1 pick; also they cannot pick fourth or worse than
eighth.They have a 8.8 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive year going into next week's NBA draft lottery.

For the pre-draft combine, Demps and dwill be joined by assistant general manager Tim Connelly and director of scouting David Booth. Pelicans Coach Monty Williams texted Monday that he won’t be attending.

"If they played (draft prospects), it would be more beneficial," Williams said. "They don’t scrimmage. They do drills and stuff that you don’t see in games."

The last draft combine that featured five-on-five scrimmages was 2008 when the event was held in Orlando, Fla. But most of the top 15 to 20 draft prospects never participated in the games because of fear from their agents their draft status would change if they didn’t perform well. So starting with the 2009 draft combine, the format was changed to putting the prospects through various drills and having them take part in interviews with team personnel, but no five-on-five scrimmage work.

Even with the new format, most of the top prospects still skip the basketball skill-related drills. Hornets No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis did not participate in drills at last year’s combine.

"If you want to have an official workout with a team, you can go there," said Ryan Blake, the NBA’s senior director of scouting. "But you can’t have five-on-five. Because of the agents trying to posture, they were not allowing their players to participate in five-on-five scrimmaging in our camp.

"So now, you have a combine where nobody gets hurt and you just your show skills in drills, shooting and your effort as you would in an NFL combine for testing. If you’re not No. 1, why not go out there and try to improve your chances."

Several of the top prospects have already indicted they are not going to participate in the basketball drills portion of the combine. Michigan point guard Trey Burke, who could be selected by the Pelicans, according to the some mock drafts, is not going to participate in any drills at the combine.

Projected No. 1 pick Nerlens Noel of Kentucky is not going to participate in the combine or be involved in any individual pre-draft workouts with teams because he continues to recover from knee surgery.

Draft prospects invited to participate in the Chicago predraft combine, May 15-16.